By Editorial,
The International Crimes Division of the High Court in Kampala has confirmed charges of aggravated defilement and child trafficking against jailed Bukwo District LC 5 Chairperson, Julius Moses Chelimo.
Presided over by Lady Justice Alice Komuhangi Khaukha, the court confirmed three charges against him and referred his case file to a panel of three High Court Judges for trial, acknowledging the prosecution’s evidence as sufficient to warrant further proceedings.
The prosecution alleges that Chelimo, while serving as the LCV Chairman of Bukwo District, engaged in a love affair with a 15-year-old student from Sebei College Tegeres in Bukwo, enticing her with material goods and causing her to abandon school and disappear from her parents.
He purportedly took her to various locations in Bukwo District, where he engaged in sexual intercourse with her.
Upon the victim’s return and disclosure of the events to her parents, Chelimo allegedly harbored her in Budaka to prevent her from reuniting with her family.
Chelimo denies the charges, asserting that they are politically motivated. However, Justice Komuhangi ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecution, including the victim’s birth certificate and corroborating documents, sufficiently demonstrated that she was underage at the time of the alleged offenses.
In her ruling on confirmation of charges, Justice Komuhangi said the victim was 15 years of age in 2021 and 16 years of age in 2022 given the prosecution’s evidence of a Birth Certificate which shows that the Victim was born on 29th September 2006.
The Electoral Commission maintains that Chelimo is still the legitimate Chairperson LC 5 of Bukwo District, despite the attempt by the Local Government Minister, Raphael Magyezi, to install a new LC5 Chairperson, Merisa Cheptegei, in November 2.2022. END.